Rail joint



Patented May 19, 1925 CARL EDUARD; NEUBAUIER, onLU'rsEN, MINNESOTA.

RAIL aonvr.

Application filed nug ust 6, 19 2 3 Serial No. 6555978.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CARL E. NEUneUnn, a citizen of Germany, residing at Lutsen, in the county of Cook and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful 1m; provementsin Rail-Joints, of which, the following is a specification.

This invention relates to, rail joints and means for uniting, the same, and proposes the construction of a novel tish-plate'and fastener therefor.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of the character indicated which shall obviate the use of bolts and nuts or other threaded connecting means.

Another object of. the inventien is the provision of joint uniting means so constructed as to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the rails, and at the same time to inhibit the upand down movement of the ends of the rails, under load which is ordinarily the principal cause of noise and pounding.

Still another object of the invention is to produce a joint uniting means so massive in the longitudinal direction of the rails as to control or inhibit excessive movement due to expansion or contraction of the rails.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, durable and efficient device which can readily be applied with a vminimum expenditure of time and labor.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the improved rail joint illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described inthe following specification, and particularly claimed, and in such variations' and modifications thereof as will be obvious to those skilled inthe art to which my invention relates.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated Figure l is a side elevation showing the abutting ends of a pair of adjacent 'rails connected together by my improved rail joint.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken in the plane of one of the fasteningmeans.

Figure 3 is a plan view, partly in section of one of the fastening means.

Figure at is a cross section of one of the fish plates having a fastening pin formed integrally therewith.

and, the rails.

Figure? is a sectiontaken along the line 5 5 'o f Figure 4L. I

Figure 6 is, a perspective view of the wale -Plat Figure? is a view in perspectiveof a inedified form of the invention in which. the fastening pin is made separate from the fish plate,

Referring now in detail to the several fig.- ures, the numerals 1 and 2 represent the abutting ends of a pair of adjacent rails. They do not differ from the railsordinarily in use except that the webs 3 are'formed with oval apertures 5!, instead of with the round holes usually provided for making the rail joint. These apertures are lecated with their major axes extending in the direction I 1 i or the lengtlrof the ra1ls, an d tneir pecul ar shape is for a purpose hereinafter to be explained; A pair of fish-plates 5 and 6 are arranged in the usual manner on opposite sidesof the webs of the rails, across the joint. The shape of said fish-plates is rather immatel ial in thatthey may be eitherfiat bars, or flanged angle irons as shown in the. drawings. I

In .thepreferred form ofthe invention one of the fish-plates, for instance the one denoted by the reference numeral 5' is, formed with ail-integral, or attached pin? extending at substantially a right angle from the inner si-dethereof. Said 'pin is oval in crossscction and passes through the oval aperture 1': inthe rail web. Preferably there are two of such oval apertures in'the end of each rail and four pins 011,,tjhefish-plate adapted to enter said apertures, But it is clearly within the scope of the invention to provide the rail ends with a greater or less number of apertures asmay be desired or found necesal-y, and to provide th ship lfi 5 with i the number of pins: necessary to'oeoupy said apertures. Thelonger cross sectional dimension of each of sait-lpins lies in the longitudinal direction of the rail and is shorter than the major axes of the apertures 4 so that,

when. the pinsare inserted in said apertures, there is longitudinal play between the pins The shorter cross sectional dimension of the pins is, however, made substantially equal to the minor axes of the apertures 4t so that when tl ie'pins are within said aperturesthere is no up and down play possible between the pins and the walls of said apertures. The fish-plate 6 is complementary to the fish -plate 5 and is provided with a plurality of oval aperturesS through which the pins 7 project and in which they fit snugly.

That part of each of the pins 7 which projects beyond the outer face of the fish plate 6 is formed with a transverse aperture or slot 9, preferably lying in a horizontal plane, through which may be passed a wedge-plate 10 for holding the fish-plates clampably against the opposite sides of the rails 1 and 2. A washer 11 intervenes between the wedge-plate and fish-plate 6, said washer being selectively chosen from among other washers of varying thickness so as to compensate for differences in the thickness of the Webs of the several rails.

Means forlocking the wedge-plate 10 in place is provided, consisting preferably of a branch slot 12 formed in the pin 7 and extending from the surface of said pin to a point at which it intersects the transverse aperture 9. A leaf spring 13 is secured, to the pin 7 in any suitable manner, as by means of the screw 14, and is furnished with a detent 15 having an end beveled in one direction only and formed with an abrupt shoulder adapted to engage a complementary wall in a recess 16 formed in the wedge-plate 10. When the fish-plates and washer are in place, as shown in Figure 2, the wedge-plate is slipped into the recess 9 and driven solidly home between the washer 11 and the wall of the aperture 9 nearest the free end of the pin 7. Vhen the wedge plate 10 has reached its final position the detent l5 enters the aperture 16, locking the wedge-plate in place and preventing its accidental withdrawal. The spring .13 is preferably housed in a shallow channel formed in the surface of the pin 7. A catch 19 is provided for engaging the free end of the spring 13 to prevent the. same from being raised, and the wedgeplate 10 from being released by the meddlesome efforts of trespassers upon the right of way, or other unauthorized persons. The invention however is operatively complete without the catch and the latter need not be put in place, if desired, until after the entire railroad under construction has been completed and is in use. For releasing the members of the rail joint it is necessary only to remove the catch 19, elevate the leaf spring 13 as shown in Figure a and to drive out the wedge-plate. The ends of the pins 7 are preferably tapered for assisting in bringing into registry apertures in the rails and fish plate 6 which may be slightly misaligned.

,In a modified form of my invention the pin 7 is formed separately from the fishplate 5 but normally fits snugly through an aperture 17 therein as is shown in Figure 7. This form of construction has the advantage that it enables the fish-plates on enough, there is looseness at the joint. In

laying the rails it is often found that expansion or contraction of the same caused by changes in atmospheric temperature have resulted in the drawing of the rail apertures out of alignment with the apertures in the fish-plate. When this occurs a great deal of time is consumed'attempting to draw the rails into alignment with the fish-plates by means of crow-bars or other implements. culty is not encountered because the pins7 have tapered ends and may therefore enter holes which are not exactly in alignment and thus draw the members in which said holes are present into alignment by means of hammer blows expended either upon one of said members or upon the head of the pin 7. i

In laying a plurality of rails. which are of new stock or from the same rolling mill it is generally unnecessary to spend time selecting a washer 11 of appropriate thickness for each joint. The webs 3, in such in- In the present case this diffistance are approximately of the same thickness and therefore the proper washer selected for the first pin determines the size 'of washer necessary for all of the pins. N o

screwing or wrench work. is necessary in making or tightening the joint, it onlybeing necessary 'to drive in the wedge-plate 10 until the detent 15 upon the spring 13 enters the aperture 16. When re-inspecting a joint, should a'spring be found broken, it is not necessary to discard the pin and fishplate to which it is attached, but merely to drop a cotterpin into the aperture 18 which is formed in the wedge member 10 and to spread the ends of said cotter pin.

It may sometimes be desired to connect 7 rails which are provided with the oval apertures necessary for my improved form of joint to rails which are provided with the usual circular apertures. This is accomplished by using fish-plates which at one end are provided with the features of the present invention and at the otherend with plain bolt holes for the reception of the ordinary bolts. v I

While I have above described what I have found to be a very practical embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that the rail joint may also be exemplified in numerous other alternative oonstructions and I accordingly reserve the right of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail fastening adapted to secure the confronting ends of adjacent rails, including cooperating fish plates, one of which is apertured, and fastening means carried by the other fish plate comprising a projecting member of non-round cross section having its major dimension lying in a direction longitudinally of the rail and provided with a transverse slot having a branch slot opening in the upper face of said member, a detent normally projecting through said branch slot into the transverse slot, said detent being resiliently supported by said member, and a wedge slidable in said slot and abutting clampably against the apertured fish plate when said member is passed through the rail and said apertured fish plate, said wedge being formed with a recess engageable by said detent.

2. A rail fastening adapted to secure the confronting ends of adjacent rails including cooperating fish plates, one being apertured, the other fish plate being formed with fastening means comprising a projecting member of non-round cross section having its major dimension lying in a direction longitudinally of the rail and provided with a transverse slot having a branch slot opening in the upper face of said member, a detent normally projecting through said branch slot into the lon 'tudinal slot, said d'etent being resiliently supported b said member, and a wedge slidable in said slot and abutting clampably against the apertured fish plate when said member is passed through the rail and said apertured fish plate, said wedge being formed with a re cess engageable by said detent.

3. A rail fastening adapted to secure the confronting ends of adjacent rails, including cooperating fish plates, one being apertured, and fastening means associated with the other fish plate comprising a projecting member of non-round cross section having 1 its major dimension lying in a direction longitudinally of the rail, and provided with a transverse slot having a branch slot opening in the upper face of said member, a wedge slidable in said slot and abutting clampably against the apertured fish plate when said member is passed through the rail and said apertured fish plate, said wedge being formed with a recess having an abrupt wall, and a detent normally projecting through'said branch slot into the transverse slot, said detent being resiliently supported by said member and having an inclined shoulder facing the direction of entry of said wedge adapted to ride over said wedge as the latter is moved into place, said detent also having an abrupt shoulder facing the direction of withdrawal of said wedge and abutting the abrupt wall of said recess to prevent withdrawal of said wedge.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CARL EDUARD N'EUBAUER. 

